In early February, internal DFB documents were leaked to the media and made front-page headlines. According to these publications, Michael Kempter, 27, and four other referees whose names remained unknown had accused supervisor Manfred Amarell, a 62-year-old married father, of sexually molesting them. Amarell denied the allegations immediately, stating that he had an œintensive private friendship with Kempter. œI have never forced him against his will. Our contacts happened in mutual consent, he said. For the DFB, however, it was beyond doubt that Amarell was the guilty party. Chairman Zwanziger called it œa necessary move when Amarell retired from office a few days later.

Having lost his job and his dignity, Amarell retaliated. In a TV talk show he called Kempter a liar for denying their œphysical relationship. And he all but destroyed the young referee™s career by presenting an email that apparently Kempter had sent him in April 2007, a few hours before Bayern Munich™s 2-0 defeat at AC Milan in the Champions League. œHopefully, Bayern will lose, the mail read. œThen we can raise our glasses. It seems unlikey that the DFB will ever again appoint a match official again who has expressed his aversion to a specific club. Amarell™s main target, however, was Zwanziger. The FA chairman had œblackmailed him into retirement, Amarell claimed, and concluded: œZwanziger is not interested in human beings.